Gina Carano, the actress known for her role as Cara Dune in The Mandalorian, is taking legal action against Disney and Lucasfilm, alleging discrimination and wrongful termination.
The lawsuit, filed in a California federal court, claims Carano was dismissed for expressing right-wing opinions on social media. Elon Musk has pledged to support Carano’s legal expenses through X/Twitter, emphasizing his commitment to free speech, as reported by THR.
In a statement, Joe Benarroch, head of business operations at X, said, “As a sign of X Corp.’s commitment to free speech, we’re proud to provide financial support for Gina Carano’s lawsuit, empowering her to seek vindication of her free speech rights on X and the ability to work without bullying, harassment, or discrimination.”
Carano’s case argues that her dismissal was a result of a targeted campaign to silence and discredit her, highlighting a disparity in the treatment of her male co-stars, Pedro Pascal and Mark Hamill, who allegedly faced no repercussions for their political expressions. The actress seeks re-employment in her role without loss of pay or benefits, compensatory damages, and back pay.
The controversy stems from a series of social media posts by Carano in February 2021, including a comparison of modern-day political divisiveness to the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust, which sparked significant backlash. Despite other Star Wars actors making similar political statements without consequence, Carano was cut from Lucasfilm and dropped by her agency, UTA.
The post read, “Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors…even by children. Because history is edited, most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views.”
Carano’s lawsuit also criticizes Disney’s demands for her to engage with the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination (GLAAD) and issue a public apology, which she refused. She claims Disney conducted a post-termination smear campaign against her.
Carano played the role of Cara Dune in The Mandalorian for two seasons before her dismissal. After leaving Lucasfilm, reports surfaced indicating that Carano’s character was intended to be a main character in the anticipated Star Wars series Rangers of the New Republic. This project was initially set to be announced during the 2020 Disney Investor Day, but those plans were eventually abandoned.
Natalie is a big fan of anything related to movies, TV shows, games, and comics — you name it. When she’s not reading or geeking out about the latest shows on Netflix, she’s probably playing gacha and tabletop games, or daydreaming of meeting her idols.
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